First, with the first cases of coronavirus in Madrid, which have left many Madrid residents unemployed, they began by providing free veterinary assistance. Then, seeing that there were people who were hospitalized for coronaviruses and could not return to their home in days to feed their dogs, they created the Home Alone program, where center workers come to rescue those dogs and take them to the homes of families. they will take care of them until their owners are discharged. And this Friday, seeing that the program works, they have also extended it to cats.

All these initiatives have been launched by the well-known protector El Refugio with a team of four people. " We are going to try to help to the limit of our capacity and our forces," says Nacho Panuero, president of the protector.

In their first performance last week, they helped Toy and Pino, two four and ten year old mongrel dogs, who were left alone for several days in a house in San Blas after their owners, a married couple, entered the coronavirus in the hospital.

"The neighbor, who had the keys to the house, called us because the dogs had been alone for four days. The lady was afraid to enter because of the coronavirus because she had no protection and called us," says Cristina Jiménez, from El Refugio and one of the three people who participated in the rescue and who arrived at their homes in their respective cars to avoid risks.

Once there, wearing gloves, masks and special suits, they entered the house. "The dogs took a joy, the little one trembled and everything," recalls Cristina. After being disinfected just in case with a cleaning gel, they were transferred to the home of a family to be welcomed for as long as it takes.

"We are receiving hundreds of calls, emails and messages from people who volunteer to welcome the puppies of people who have had to be hospitalized in their homes," says Panuero, who also hopes that these adoptive families can welcome dogs. at their owners' house they die of coronavirus.

"We are having the opportunity to verify that in Madrid, as in all of Spain, solidarity is a virus that is spreading as rapidly as Covid-19," says Panuero , who assures that four rescues have already been carried out and are being carried out. managing another 20, in addition to adding canine rescues to the action plan.

In front of the hoaxes that run on social networks, from the protector they assure that an increase in the abandonments of dogs has not been detected since the state of alarm was decreed nor an increase in adoptions for what is allowed to leave the house if it is to walk the dog.

From the Animal Protection Center under the Madrid City Council confirm this trend. In fact, a municipal spokesman assures that "both the entrances and exits are very few, even below the average, since to adopt an animal you have to move and circulation is restricted."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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  • Madrid
  • Spain
  • Covid 19
  • Coronavirus

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